Spirit vs. Ordinary Life

[Guest guest]

Here is a description of two days of my ordinary life, which to me is also my

spiritual life because every moment of life is an expression of the One Life

Being. Every thought, every breath, every sensation, every creative and

non-creative aspect of my life is Life Itself being Itself, and in that sense, I

am

it and it is me, a part of it, and simultaneously all of it.

 

February 12, 2006

 

Today I want to install the R.V. refrigerator roof vent cover I made last

week. It is all painted white on the outside, and on the inside, I used white

engine high temperature paint hoping to protect the wood from burning when the

heat from the refrigerator heater flame is operating to cool the refrigerator.

I made it in the wood workshop here at Leisure World, the retirement

community where I live. All the big major tools for changing wood into objects

are

there, the big electric saws, planers, band saws, and all the small tools like

screwdrivers and they even have boxes of nails that we can use.

The metal covers sold in the R.V. supply shops were too small, and to order a

correct size would cost $50, so I decided to make my own out of wood, and I

wonder if it will hold up to the heat without burning.

Anyhow, today I want to climb up on the roof and try to install it. There

are two brackets I placed on each side with three screw holes in each, and I

have an extra bracket if needed. Since I will be drilling holes into the roof,

I

have to use a gooey plastic material to seal the holes made by the screws.

If it fits, it will be quite an accomplishment and if it works without burning,

an even greater one. I designed it to allow the heat to pass out yet

protecting the vent opening from rain. Hard to describe how I did that, but it

leaves a one inch opening around the long sides for the heat to pass outside.

Yesterday, I did three things that pleased me. First, I washed the R.V. at a

big car wash and that is always an adventure with the hot and soapy water

sprays, the time clock running out, quarters being shoved in the slot and the

dirt running down the sides and off into the drains.

Second, I had the oil changed which has to be done every 3,000 miles to

maintain the warrantee on the replacement engine I had installed two years ago.

After a week working every day, I really didn’t want to wake up at 7:00 a.m.,

to take the R.V. to the Big O Tire company some miles away to change the oil.

The car wash is there at the same location, so I’d be doing the oil change and

the wash job about the same time. They opened at 8:00 a.m. and if I get

there at the beginning, I can be first in line. But moving through the slog of

morning lethargy, I got there at 9:00, and it was too late to get in so I still

washed the R.V. and headed for the wood workshop.

On the way there, at the corner of El Toro and Moulton is a Lube’n Tune but

the service bays seemed too narrow to fit my R.V. so I always drove past, but

since failing to get the oil change at Big O, I pulled in to see if they could

work on my large, wide R.V. In a minute, they had pulled it into the shop and

were draining the old oil out of it. Since they were a " service center " they

were happy to check the tires and all the fluids needed to run a vehicle like

brake and battery fluid, transmission, rear end and the tire pressure. And,

they gave me an $8.00 discount just to get my business. It only took a few

minutes, and I was out of there, feeling satisfied and delighted that such a

burdensome task was completed.

The wood workshop is in an activity center that also contains a swimming

pool, an art gallery an art work center, and photography, ceramics, jewelry

making and sewing workshops.

My wood project is involved with making cases to send art to the many art

competitions in California and the U.S. It took a long time to pick the size

and

figure out how to make them. Aluminum sheet is available in 24 x 120 inch

pieces, and a nicely sized frame is 22 x 24 inches, so I decided on making a

case that would have an exterior of 24 in x 26 inches. It has a wood frame and

will have aluminum sides, with hinges on one side and a latch on the other. I

cut the sides out of 3/8 inch plywood 24 x 48 inches long and each piece was

1 and ¼ inch wide, so when the two halves were closed, the interior width was

2 ½ inches that allowed for two picture frames one inch wide and three pieces

of cardboard separating them with ¼ inch left over.

I was able to cut all the pieces and assemble them using glue, small nails

and corner clamps to hold them together until the glue dried, and then later, to

attach the hinges connecting the two frames together.

The last part is to purchase the aluminum sheets and nail and glue them to

the two frames to make one case.

A few weeks ago, I joined an internet organization that sends me notices of

art shows and competitions but I have yet to send them my slides to see if I

meet their qualification standards. It’s quite a racket of sorts. To try to

enter, an artist has to send them a few slides and pay them for each slide

submitted. I’ve seen announcements that require $15 per slide, so If my work

is

not accepted, I am out the entrance money. I’m willing to do this because I

want my art to be shown for the possibility of sales and to participate in the

art world which is a criteria for art teaching jobs. But that’s another

story.

Enough for now.

 

Larry Epston

www.epston.com